What should be next in the Haiku of Horror series?

[Korash]

Because kabuki actors were the superstars of fandom, they could get away with poking fun at the authorities and mostly getting away with it. So I was planning to offer a political parody play, with supporters of the slandered party in the audience perhaps getting ready to accost the actor once the play begins

This does sound like a good idea, and reminds me of a book I read recently. It was a historical fiction about Shakespeare writing a political intrigue play and people wondering if it was real or not. Maybe throw in a few subtle hints that the person targeted might not be as loyal as he seems....true or not, THAT is the question. I wonder how a theater would work as a cover for something like an assassin...

[Gamerprinter]

I wonder how a theater would work as a cover for something like an assassin...

Interesting that you mention assassin. Part of my goal in all my Kaidan releases is to enlighten readers by debunking myths in Japanese lore/media representation.

You know those black stealth suits that ninja conspicuously wear in all the ninja movies? They never wore those in real life. Where the idea came from is that in a kabuki play the actors wear iconic makeup and garish outfits and are under the spot lights, however, also moving about the stages are stage handlers who wear those black suits so they mostly stay 'invisible' to the audience watching the live show. The audience can see the stage handler, but seeing the uniform recognize that this is a convention not to pay attention to the guys in the black suit. The very first kabuki play that featured an assassin as part of the storyline, had the assassin actor wearing the stage handler's black suit, approach the target actor, pulled his mask off to reveal the makeup of an actor, then unsheathed a stage sword and 'slayed' the victim - to the shock of the audience.

So to the Japanese, those black suits are a kabuki stage convention only, and doesn't mean to suggest that real ninja ever wore such a costume. In real life ninja wore whatever costume they would not be noticed in for a given situation - dress like a monk when at a monastery, dress like a local resident when skulking the streets, dress like a samurai or household servant when infiltrating a castle. This factoid is one of the elements I reveal in gray box text of Japan facts in the release.

So while an assassin could possibly operate in a theater, in trying to debunk the black suit ninja myth, including a ninja in the storyline would be counter-productive, I think.

I'm probably going to work this as political intrigue among the samurai and aristocratic class, dealing with issues of honor, pursuit of justice, finding out if the slandered victim actually deserves the treatment - rather than looking at this as an assassination attempt. If the PCs rescue the accosted actor, now they might be under the negative attention of a powerful political figure, and have just inserted themselves into a complex web of samurai intrigue - a plot hook to lead to a larger unwritten adventure that could grow from the seeds of the publication release.